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Damascene Desecration

Following the grave insult by Syrian terrorists to Hujr ibn Adi’s tomb, waves of outrage swept Muslims around the world

Raziqueh Hussain for BeyondHeadlines

Democracy, reform, freedom and toppling the dictator, what a joke! Can anyone show me the last time when Al Qaida, the US, Israel or Saudi have brought democracy, peace or stability to any country, questioned a friend when news of the desecration of the grave of Prophet’s companion Hujr ibn Adi in Syria spread. “Aren’t they themselves the greatest oppressors and allies of dictators and head-choppers?”

This attack is an end of revolution for democracy in Syria, with a total massacre of minorities in mind.

Photo Courtesy: presstv.ir

According to sources, an attack has been confirmed upon the gravesite of one of the Companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad and Imam Ali, named Hujr ibn Adi wherein the tomb was destroyed in an explosion, and the perpetrators of the attack removed the body from the ground and fled with it. Jubhatul Nusra, recognised as a terror outfit by the US, has claimed responsibility.

This attack is considered particularly offensive to Muslims of both the Sunni and Shias. Both revere Hujr ibn Adi as a laudable and important companion of Prophet Muhammad, and view the desecration of his grave as a terrible offense. Lady Zainab is the granddaughter of the Prophet, and an attack upon her tomb would quash any hope for stability in the Middle East, or a resolution to the crisis in Syria.

The attack took place in the city of Marj Adra, Syria, once a predominantly Christian suburb on the outskirts of Damascus, in broad daylight. The city is named in reference to the Virgin Mary, a figure revered by Christianity and Islam.

Hujr – led the army of Muslims to victory in several crucial battles. He and his sons finally fell victim to their loyalty to Imam Ali and were murdered on the orders of the Umayyad Caliph Muawiyah in the year 660 CE.

To condemn this act, Indian Muslims poured onto the streets in various cities across the country in lieu of “Black Friday,” a call raised by Maulana Kalbe Jawad Naqvi in New Delhi to protest against the desecration of the shrine.

On Wednesday, hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Srinagar, Kashmir too and several other towns of the valley.

In Pakistan, the Majlis-e-Wahdat-ul-Muslimeen on Sunday held a demonstration outside the Press Club in Lahore. Women and children took part in the protest and the speakers said that the current situation of Syria, which is in no way comparable with the situation of other Arab revolutions. The violence in Syria is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a large number of the insurgents are foreign nationals. The West and its regional allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey are supporting the armed groups.

Iranian and Syrian university students gathered in front of the United Nations office in Tehran on Monday to denounce the acts by foreign-backed militants against the grave of Hujr ibn Adi in the Damascus suburb of Adra.

Also on Monday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said the enemies were seeking to fan the flames of hostility between the Shia and Sunni Muslims by desecrating the holy shrine. “Muslims, especially elites and scientific, political and religious figures in the Muslim world should fulfill their duty towards this evil mindset and prevent the spread of sedition [between Muslims],” he said.

As a cultural move to respond to the blasphemous move by the armed insurgents in Syria, Isfahan’s Ghaemiyeh Cyber Research Center has released a free ebook online about Hujr ibn Adi al-Kindi.

Entitled as Getting to know about Hujr ibn Adi, the book is available at http://www.ghaemiyeh.com in various formats is accessible in cell phones and PCs.

Also, the Iranian channel iFilm plans to release a new series narrating the life of Hujr Bin Ad. iFilm TV channel will air the Hujr Bin Adi series in both Persian and Arabic language at 22:30 local time for twelve consecutive nights, and replay it at 6:30 and 14:30 the next day.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah Media Relations expressed its pain after hearing the news.

“What we expected and feared, and what Hezbollah Secretary General, his Eminence Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, warned of two days ago, regarding the assault on sanctums, and the violation of religious sanctities, has happened,” the statement said.

“The shrine of the great companion, Hujr Ibn Adi, is one of the most important shrines for all Muslims, and violating and digging his grave in this way reveals a terrorist and criminal mentality that does not respect neither Muslim nor Christian sanctities,” it added.

The statement indicated that “this crime raises one big question: Where is the Syrian opposition which claimed it wanted to protect sanctities and pledged to defend shrines and religious centers?” it said, expressing concern over safeguarding religious centres in Syria.

Sheikh Mansour Mandoor, a member of Egypt’s Al-Azhar talking to Al-Alam Network condemned exhumation of the grave of Hujr. He said Al-Azhar is against such actions and consider it Haram (forbidden) especially in the case of Hujr who met the Prophet and his lofty position is known to all.

Khaled Abdulwahab Molla the Head of Iraqi Sunni Associations declared condemnation of all Iraqi Sunnis for barbaric actions of terrorist groups in Syria which led to exhumation of the grave of Hujr and asked all international organisations to support the sanctity and respect of all shrines and graveyards around the world. This is one of the most indecent acts in order to insult highly respected Muslim personalities, said the statement.

Syria has been experiencing a deadly unrest since March 2011, and many people have been killed in the chaos. In an interview recently broadcast on Turkish television, Assad said that if the militants take power in Syria, they could destabilize the entire Middle East region for decades. “If the unrest in Syria leads to the partitioning of the country, or if the terrorist forces take control… the situation will inevitably spill over into neighbouring countries and create a domino effect throughout the Middle East and beyond,” he stated.

And if such attacks continue in the world’s oldest inhabited city, it won’t be long before all historical treasures are buried.

(Author is associated with a Sweden-based digital paper as an editor.)

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